NEWS anchor Tim Willcox yesterday escaped censure from a TV watchdog over insensitive remarks during an anti-terror rally in Paris.

BBC reporter Tim Willcox, left, was interviewing people at the Paris anti-terror rally, right

Critics accused the BBC of broadcasting anti-Semitism by transmitting 51-year-old Mr Willcox’s comments at the landmark event held in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack.

But Ofcom said the remarks in which Mr Willcox said: “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well” were “justified by the context in which they were presented.”

The decision was slammed by Jewish groups last night.

Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well

Tim Willcox

Jonathan Arkush , Vice President of The Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: “The objection to Willcox’s interview was his suggestion that French Jews could expect to be targeted by terrorists because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Ofcom seem to have missed the point entirely.

“Ofcom also seem to have forgotten that Willcox himself admitted he had got it wrong and apologised.”

Jonathan Sacerdoti, director of communications for the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, said that Willcox had seemed to justify the attacks on Jewish people in Paris by saying that Palestinians had suffered at Jewish hands.

“It offended many, many people,” he said.

Mr Sacerdoti said that even Tim Willcox himself had admitted he should not have said it by apologising on Twitter.

The campaign group is still pursuing the issue with the BBC, he said.

The BBC has launched an investigation into Willcox’s interview.

The rally was held to remember 17 victims of the Paris terror attacks, including four Jewish people in a siege at a Kosher supermarket.

Willcox caused anger on the BBC News Channel after telling the daughter of Holocaust survivors in the French capital: “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well.”

Willcox later apologised for his “poorly phrased question” in a one-sentence announcement to his 18,000 Twitter followers.

The apology failed to stop calls for his resignation on social media. Jewish groups made official complaints to the BBC.

But yesterday Ofcom said, while it had examined the complaints, it had decided not to launch an investigation into the news report, which was broadcast on January 11 at 16:45.

A spokesman said: “After assessing complaints about alleged anti-Semitic comments made by Tim Willcox at a Paris rally, Ofcom ruled that, while the comments had the potential to cause offence, they were justified by the context in which they were presented.”